I have alot of hoarseness in my throat and it is very hard to breath at times when I take medicine it gets stuck in my throat I am a singer and just recently had to stop singing due to a one sunday I got up to sing and my vocals were very hoarse and scratchy I love to sing I do have a 1.2 cm nodule onn the right side I am waiting now for a ultrasound how long will it take to find out if I need a my thyroid out

Try not to frighten yourself unnecessarily. A thyroidectomy is not always indicated just because you have a nodule. It's extremely common to have them and your's is small. You would have your thyroid removed only if the nodule were cancerous, and since you only have one nodule, worst case scenario they would take one lobe. The ultrasound will show if it's impinging on your vocal chords, but since it's small, that seems unlikely. Have you tried putting the water in your mouth and then the pills? This sometimes makes it easier to swallow.

I understand your fear, and that it's worse because you are a singer. I also love to sing, and then couldn't because of hoarseness. You don't indicate if you have any other signs of hypothyroidism. Do you? Hoarseness is one of the symptoms of advanced hypothyroidism.

I went to the doctor and then to an endocrinologist for 4 years, was told my (bottom range) TSH was fine and that my hair loss and weight gain etc. were just signs of aging. I was sent to a pulmonologist for the coughing and hoarseness, and also to an allergist. Finally the endo deigned to palpate my throat and said "Oh, your thyroid IS a little enlarged. We'll just watch it for a year." After a year my symptoms had all increased and the hoarseness was much worse. An ultrasound showed multiple nodules about the size of yours on both lobes. I was put on medication (T4 and T3 in my case, T4 alone didn't work for me) Eventually my symptoms mostly subsided and the hoarseness was one of the first things to go away. Further ultrasounds have shown that the nodules are shrinking. My lab reports remain atypical.
I have noticed that when my labs are off, the hoarseness returns, but I'm sure when we finally find the right dose for me and I am stabilized on it that the hoarseness will retreat.

I hope that will be your case too, and that this helps you to relax a little bit. Try not to worry before you need to, as stress exacerbates a thyroid condition. Let us know the results of your tests. Blessings.

Try not to frighten yourself unnecessarily. A thyroidectomy is not always indicated just because you have a nodule. It's extremely common to have them and your's is small. You would have your thyroid removed only if the nodule were cancerous, and since you only have one nodule, worst case scenario they would take one lobe. The ultrasound will show if it's impinging on your vocal chords, but since it's small, that seems unlikely. Have you tried putting the water in your mouth and then the pills? This sometimes makes it easier to swallow.

I understand your fear, and that it's worse because you are a singer. I also love to sing, and then couldn't because of hoarseness. You don't indicate if you have any other signs of hypothyroidism. Do you? Hoarseness is one of the symptoms of advanced hypothyroidism.

I went to the doctor and then to an endocrinologist for 4 years, was told my (bottom range) TSH was fine and that my hair loss and weight gain etc. were just signs of aging. I was sent to a pulmonologist for the coughing and hoarseness, and also to an allergist. Finally the endo deigned to palpate my throat and said "Oh, your thyroid IS a little enlarged. We'll just watch it for a year." After a year my symptoms had all increased and the hoarseness was much worse. An ultrasound showed multiple nodules about the size of yours on both lobes. I was put on medication (T4 and T3 in my case, T4 alone didn't work for me) Eventually my symptoms mostly subsided and the hoarseness was one of the first things to go away. Further ultrasounds have shown that the nodules are shrinking. My lab reports remain atypical.
I have noticed that when my labs are off, the hoarseness returns, but I'm sure when we finally find the right dose for me and I am stabilized on it that the hoarseness will retreat.

I hope that will be your case too, and that this helps you to relax a little bit. Try not to worry before you need to, as stress exacerbates a thyroid condition. Let us know the results of your tests. Blessings.

Ceecee, I had much the same. I am a singer and started getting hoarse after three hours of practice. I also started having a wierd swallowing thing, I would swallow food then it would get stuck, I would get massive, rapid hiccups until I swallowed water. I had to quit singing, too. I also started getting blood pressure spikes, I lost some weight, and had joint pain. I have known I have had nodules since 2000, but didn't really worry until last year. I had the tests done, my nodules (4) were pretty big. I had an ultrasound, I don't think they can tell from an ultrasound if it is near the recurrant laryngeal nerve...that nerve controls vocal function. In my case, I had three on the left, one on the right, pretty much the whole right side was nodules. After FNA biopsy, they still could not tell if they were cancerous or not, so I chose to roll the dice and have the right side removed, hoping to cure the hoarseness and keep the other 1/2. Surgery went fine, felt great, could sing better right after surgery. Then the path report said I had cancer, so that meant the other side had to go. I had five tumors, biggest was 1.5 cm. Since the surgery and treatment, I have had no hoarseness issues, no swallowing issues, my joint pain that I had had for several years has disappeared...everything is better. My singing voice has returned to being clear and the high notes are better than before. My suggestion is to keep at it and get answers, there is a reason you are hoarse. Have the ENT look down your throat at your vocal chords. If they are irritated, it may be GERD (I have that, also). If they are perfect, there is something else wrong. My vocal chords were pristine, I am classically trained, so there was obviously something else wrong. GERD might cause hoarseness and swallowing issues, or it could be the nodule itself.

Ceecee, I had much the same. I am a singer and started getting hoarse after three hours of practice. I also started having a wierd swallowing thing, I would swallow food then it would get stuck, I would get massive, rapid hiccups until I swallowed water. I had to quit singing, too. I also started getting blood pressure spikes, I lost some weight, and had joint pain. I have known I have had nodules since 2000, but didn't really worry until last year. I had the tests done, my nodules (4) were pretty big. I had an ultrasound, I don't think they can tell from an ultrasound if it is near the recurrant laryngeal nerve...that nerve controls vocal function. In my case, I had three on the left, one on the right, pretty much the whole right side was nodules. After FNA biopsy, they still could not tell if they were cancerous or not, so I chose to roll the dice and have the right side removed, hoping to cure the hoarseness and keep the other 1/2. Surgery went fine, felt great, could sing better right after surgery. Then the path report said I had cancer, so that meant the other side had to go. I had five tumors, biggest was 1.5 cm. Since the surgery and treatment, I have had no hoarseness issues, no swallowing issues, my joint pain that I had had for several years has disappeared...everything is better. My singing voice has returned to being clear and the high notes are better than before. My suggestion is to keep at it and get answers, there is a reason you are hoarse. Have the ENT look down your throat at your vocal chords. If they are irritated, it may be GERD (I have that, also). If they are perfect, there is something else wrong. My vocal chords were pristine, I am classically trained, so there was obviously something else wrong. GERD might cause hoarseness and swallowing issues, or it could be the nodule itself.

I have alot of hoarseness in my throat and it is very hard to breath at times when I take medicine it gets stuck in my throat I am a singer and just recently had to stop singing due to a one sunday I got up to sing and my vocals were very hoarse and scratchy I love to sing I do have a 1.2 cm nodule onn the right side I am waiting now for a ultrasound how long will it take to find out if I need a my thyroid out

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